Journaling my genealogy research online seems to be the right thing to do for the future of my research rather than hiding it away in some box or drawer in my home. This blog is more of a diary of my research which expands as I go. Know that a post from last year may have more updated research in a different post. I love the discovery process which has resulted in such wonderful success in finding my roots. If you comment and are looking for a response, please leave me an email address.

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Sunday, September 25, 2011

Liberty Awaited Them

As I look through my list of ancestors who immigrated from Ireland and Germany, I can pick out a few who likely saw the Statue of Liberty while sailing into New York Harbor. While many of my ancestors were already in the United States by 1886, I often wonder if my great grandparents', Patrick Hickey and Johanna Coughlin, first glimpse of the statue moved them. They would definitely have seen her upon their arrival in 1904 and 1905 to New York City.

Some people including New Yorkers say that the statue is just a tourist trap. I have heard this on more than one occasion from a New York City or Long Island resident. For many of these people, the statue is something that they take for granted. There are many a resident of New York who have never been to Liberty Island. In their defense, when something is in your backyard, it is sometime considered the usual story of the day.

As a Californian with several New York City relatives in my past and a few trips there, I have ventured out to Liberty Island. As part of the collection of tourists, I did get to see Lady Liberty on at least three occasions. In 1980, I made it up to the pedestal and, in 1990, I made it to the top, the crown. My 1984 trip to New York found me looking at her from a far with scaffolding surrounding her during the renovation. I also went there in 1986 and can't remember going anywhere near lower Manhattan. I might need to go back and check my photo albums.

So why do I bring all of this up now. I was recently watching a show about wonders of the United States. It included Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Grand Canyon. In relating this to my ancestors, I thought, "Those national parks are places that the majority of my ancestors never saw. What wonders did they see?" That's when the Statue of Liberty popped into my head. It is a common "wonder" that many immigrants saw as they entered New York Harbor upon their arrival in the United States.

My own experience of awe for the Statue of Liberty was first felt as we rode the ferry out the island and saw her looming in the distance. That is an amazing sight. While I have been up in the statue and to the crown, the best view of her is standing at ground level looking up. I got some amazing photos back in 1990. I hope that I still have the negatives somewhere. Here is one of the photos:

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"It is a most useful art, this photographing, by which one can from one end of the world to the other [send] a pretty correct representation without writing a word about it."

---Michael Flanagan, written in 1873

The Essence of Genealogy

Below you will find a poem that I found in a "Birthday Book" that belonged to my Grandma. It was the book's dedication by Rev. Hugo W. Hoffmann. I think it represents some of what genealogy is all about.